The present invention relates to surgical instruments, in particular ultrasonic instruments; on the one hand, it relates in particular to the instruments suitable for the surgical remodelling of the nasal bone structure in the field of rhinoplasty, both for reparative surgery and for plastic surgery. On the other hand it also relates to surgery operated on mandible and maxilla, both for reparative surgery and for plastic surgery.
Regarding the field of rhinoplasty, surgical operations involving the bone and/or cartilage structure of the nose can be performed following two operating techniques:
those known as ‘open’ techniques, wherein the structure is uncovered by lifting the skin that has previously been incised at the base of the nose,
those known as ‘closed’ techniques, wherein small incisions are made at the base of the nostrils in order to be able to slide a surgical instrument between the skin and the bone structure of the nose, in which case the medical practitioner cannot have a direct view of the operative end of the surgical instrument.
Moreover, the techniques currently used in the field of rhinoplasty most frequently make use of conventional surgical instruments: osteotomes, gouges, bone chisels, either manually actuated using a mallet or combined with a small motor-type electrical actuator.
In the field of precision surgery the use of instruments excited by a mechanical movement at ultrasonic frequency is also known, such as for example those described in document WO2008012359.
Regarding the field of mandible and maxilla surgery, also referred to as “dentofacial osteotomy”, this surgery is practiced through the patient's mouth, without any visible external scar, whether it concerns maxilla osteotomy (upper jaw) or mandible osteotomy (lower jaw). In particular, some mandible osteotomies require to cut some rear part of the mandible wherein the operative site cannot be seen directly by the practitioner, such a configuration being part of the techniques known as ‘closed’.
The techniques known as ‘closed’ involve smaller scars or no scar at all, and more rapid patient recovery; thus, the inventors have revealed a need to improve the techniques of the prior art in the context of the operations known as ‘closed’, in which the surgeon does not have a direct view of the clinical site.